Keep BOTH Mr. Carter and Mr. Pattison at YVHS!!

UPDATE: The District contacted me, and my understanding is that Mr. Carter will indeed move to Northgate to become their full time choir teacher, but he will also be paid to teach Mads at YVHS still, and Carter has a goal to collaborate on a YV/NG musical with Ms. Cooper. I am not thrilled with the outcome in terms of the "war", but I do feel the "battle" was won. Our kids at YV will still get to benefit from Carter's immense knowledge and keep the relationships the kids have built with him, and also Mr. P will be the full time music teacher at YV. For those of you who don't know Mr. P, he is an amazing young teacher who has passion and dedication to our school as well. Thank you all for your efforts. My understanding is that Carter is happy with this arrangement, and if he is happy, then I am happy.

Mt. Diablo Unified School District has made a decision that the split time that music teachers Mr. Carter and Mr. Pattison have been teaching at both Oak Grove Middle and Ygnacio Valley High Schools will come to an end. Next year, Mr. Carter will be at Northgate High only, Mr. Pattison will be at Ygnacio Valley High only, and Oak Grove will get a new full time music teacher. This will negatively affect the kids at both Oak Grove and Ygnacio Valley! These two teachers (and Mr. Accatino prior to Mr. Pattison), have dedicated themselves to the students at these schools. They tirelessly work to ensure that the band, orchestra, guitar and choir classes are growing and thriving. They put in countless hours each to their respective clubs- marching band and madrigals. We met with the District today, and told them WHY it must be kept the same: 1) The continuity of instruction for these music programs is tied to the direct hard work of Mr. C and Mr. P; 2) The kids who attend these schools have built longstanding relationships with these teachers, and they both need to continue the positive impact they make on their students; 3) There are many problems that need to be fixed at OG and YV, but we are heading in the right direction, don't fix something that isn't broken! When you sign the petition, please include a comment about your connection to OGMS and/or YVHS.

Sharing my post to Facebook today 4/21, for those who missed it: This request was initiated by Oak Grove because they want a full time music teacher. That request should have been denied from the get go by the district for the good of the feeder pattern, and never even brought to Mr. Carter as a choice- between teaching full time at Oak Grove, full time at YV, or full time at Northgate. He chose the best option of Northgate to give Mr. P a future at YV. I admire him for making that choice, and of course in an ideal world neither teacher wants to commute between two schools, but the change should not even have been up for discussion. There is too much work to be done at OG AND YV to have there be a change to one of the KEY THINGS that IS working well at these schools!

Thank you for your support!